[Index] [About] [Participants] [Forum] [Vote] [Letters] [Disclaimer]

10,000 Anti-Eurostate Protesters Ignored By The Media

Sceptics reject the European Charter on Fundamental Rights as the constitution of a European superstate.

"Stop The Eurostate!" Treaty of Nice: Protesters fear it will lead to further
erosion of national sovereignty.

An estimated 10,000 Eurosceptics marched against the forthcoming Treaty of Nice, and what they termed the "creation of a Eurostate" on Saturday 28th October 2000. The marchers came from all social and racial backgrounds, political hues, and the Danish June Movement's leader, Jens-Peter Bonde MEP, joined them with his family. The procession went from Hyde Park to Trafalgar Square, where the protesters were met by a pan-European contingent of speakers.

Protest organisers from the Democracy Movement, nevertheless, were disappointed. Marc Glendening the Eurosceptical group's campaign director revealed that the BBC had chosen to cover a smaller protest by 100 people about Black issues.

In Trafalgar Square the cameras that were present ignored such eminent speakers as Robin Page of the BBC's One Man and His Dog, John Redwood MP, and Labour peer Lord Stoddart of Swindon. Instead the cameras focused on a dozen of Europhiles from the Pro-euro Conservative Party (PECP). The PECP's campaigners proclaimed that "Britain needs Europe" and "Britain needs the euro."

One of the PECP members stated that he'd joined the Europhile group because he feared job losses in the West Midlands' car industry if Britain did not sign up to the single currency. After a minor incident between a Eurosceptic and a member of the Pro-Euro Conservatives Party, the police were keen to separate the intervening pro-euro camp from the Democracy Movement's supporters.

The protest was otherwise very lively and peaceful, but not without any other incident. The only other victim was a European Union flag that had been flying outside a prestigious London hotel. These events and the PECP's placards claiming "the Democracy Movement is not democratic" were a source of anti-euro amusement.

Further shocks came not from the Europhiles but from Robin Page who declared, after a passionate speech about the countryside and against the EU, "London is a dump, I hate London!" Mr. Page who's also a supporter of the Countryside Alliance, feels that European Union regulation is damaging the countryside. He also feels that a battle is raging between those living in the countryside and the cities.

While the PECP hoped to recruit Eurosceptics to their ranks by denouncing the Democracy Movement, many of the anti-Eurostate protesters waved defiant Nordic flags. The Danish and Swedish flags were flown with hope and declared: "Denmark said no!" and "Sweden will say no!

The Eurosceptics became excited when one speaker mocked the PECP protesters, who also pronounced "Europe: not a superstate but a superpower!" Another protest outside the National Gallery sought to put Saddam Hussein on trial. In fact the only thing that dampened the resolve of the Democracy Movement's allies and supporters was the fall of heavy rain, at which point everyone in the square scrambled for cover. Even so their fingers are crossed for a "No!" vote in the forthcoming Swedish referendum on the single currency.

By Graham Jarvis, 5th November 2000